Russellville Junior High School’s Eastside Whirlwinds had one final test before today’s River Valley Conference basketball tournament: the RJHS Westside Whirlwinds.

The last time the two teams met, the East glided past the West, 50-40. This time the margin of victory was much larger, 43-27.

Eastside (16-7, 8-5 RVC) head coach Matt Howerton attributed the boost in scoring to the return of Marquis Rhode, who tore his meniscus just before Christmas. Howerton also credited the talent and hard work the Eastside Whirlwinds have put in during practice.

“I have some hard-working kids,” he said. “Since Marquis has returned, we’ve started to gel more as a team.

“They’re a talented group of kids.”

East began to build its lead from the opening tip, but things didn’t get out of hand for the Westside Whirlwinds until the third quarter, when they were held to only three field goals.

Meanwhile, Eastside piled on an additional 17 points and put the game out of reach, 43-17, by the end of the third period.

“At halftime, we talked about finishing games,” Howerton said. “We wanted to put this one behind us and focus on winning the conference tournament (today).”

Prior to that, East’s Drew Turner scored four points in the second, two at the free-throw line and one from the field. Vickers drew a foul after sinking a layup and scored the additional shot for Westside. After trailing 15-8 at the close of the first quarter, the West Whirlwinds trailed 26-11 at the half.

Westside’s Matt Laws chipped in five points in the fourth quarter to lesson the score disparity. Both teams will play in today’s conference tournament at RJHS. The Westside Whirlwinds will play at 11 a.m., while the Eastside Whirlwinds will play at 6:45 p.m.

“I love to see the way they play together,” Howerton said. “I’m proud of the Westside kids as well. They fought until the end.”